Need to know
For #TeamEEAST Last updated: 18 May 2024 at 05:54
Getting you the information you want
Life is busy, so it’s crucial that when we share information with you it is both useful and accurate. Our monthly performance dashboard is designed to provide a clear, easy to understand, snapshot of how we’re performing. At the Q&As we received comments from colleagues that the way we were publishing the information around our average daily call volume was not working. As months vary in the number of days, it was not an accurate comparison to look at month on month numbers and then use those to demonstrate whether the number of calls was increasing or decreasing each month. With this in mind we have changed the way we display the information and are now representing it as ‘Average Daily Call Volume’ which leaves no room for misinterpretation.
Similarly, colleagues also suggested that it would be useful to show our average response time broken down into the separate categories of call, therefore we are now representing this information as ‘Average Response Times for Call Categories 1, 2, 3 and 4, with each category shown separately.
This is a great example of how we want the Q&A sessions to work. They are a chance for you to raise concerns or issues with us, and anything we can’t answer or deal with there and then we do take away and spend time looking into the points that are raised. There are local Q&A sessions taking place in some areas this week and then it’s a Trust-wide session next week and if you miss a session you can catch up on Need to Know.
RCN strike action
Just a reminder that as of Sunday 30th April 20:00 until Tuesday 2nd May 20:00 nurses across multiple areas will be striking. As you may have heard in the news the Health Secretary is seeking legal advice as to whether the last 20 hours of the strike is lawful. This is being discussed today and if is deemed be unlawful the strike will end Monday 1 May 23:59.
Everyone’s priority as always during any strike action is the safety of our communities and patients. We are in constant discussion with other regional and local health partners to ensure we are able to support one another.
Patient Safety changes
Like all NHS Trusts around the country, we are in the process of changing the way we deal with Patient Safety Incident Reporting. The new method, which will be in place by September will be a shift away from looking at causes and individuals, towards how we can learn from incidents and focus on compassion, open conversation and most importantly much more involvement from our patients. We work this way in a lot of other areas, so it makes sense to move to this approach. I hope it will also be a positive step in terms of taking some of the stress out of the process if you’re ever involved in an incident which requires investigation.
On a daily basis there will be little change to see, much of the work is being carried out within the Patient Safety Team. However, there is a need for frontline staff particularly our frontline managers, to undertake training in advance of the new framework being introduced. Those of you who require this training will have been contacted directly, and a big thank you to everyone who has already signed up for the available dates. If you haven’t yet done so, I’d ask you to please read the email and sign up as soon as possible, I have and it’s easy to do.
As we move closer to September, we will share further information with you. For the moment though we just need to make sure that everyone who needs it has received their training, so we’re ready for the changes as and when they begin to be introduced.
New Chair appointed
It’s great to announce we have now appointed a new Chair, Mrunal Sisodia OBE, who has been with us for three years as a Non-Executive Director. He brings experience from both public and private sectors and already has a clear idea of the challenges we face. We very much look forward to working with Mrunal when he takes up his new role later this year. Please see the message from Tom and Nicola regarding Mrunal’s appointment.
Have your say
There are just a few days left until the latest National Quarterly Pulse Survey closes on 1st May. I know it may feel like survey overload, but the important message is, surveys do help drive the decision making within our organisation, they are anonymous, and they give you the opportunity to have your say about life at EEAST. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey and help us gather an accurate picture of the Trust.
Autism blog
For those who have not yet seen it, Dr Hein Scheffer, our Director of Strategy, Culture and Education has published a blog around Autism and why, both individually and as an organisation, we should all be doing more to embrace people with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and people with both visible and non-visible disabilities. It’s well worth a read and you can find it here.
Stress Awareness Month
In the last week of Stress Awareness Month, Need to Know has included some information about dealing with sleep problems and the role sleep can play in helping all of us to better manage stressful situations. It’s not always easy to switch off, and sometimes we can all get into cycles where we struggle to sleep or stay asleep, but hopefully some of the resources that have been made available will help if you’re currently experiencing this. Please remember, that our Wellbeing team also produced a helpful guide full of support and contact details to help you look after your health and wellbeing. You can download it here.
New look for emails
Today’s Need to Know round up will be arriving in your inbox with a brand new look. We’re beginning to roll out a new email marketing platform, which will not only help us deliver ‘all-staff’ emails such as this one more easily, it will also allow the Communications Team to specifically target emails. The rollout of the platform will happen over the next few weeks and you can read more about it here.
Thank You Thursday
This week our Thank You comes via the GREATix scheme, for Bedford’s Jade Kinsella.
‘Jade is the EOCs rota planning guru, she keeps our three EOC departments running with her seamless rostering. Without Jade we wouldn't be able to provide a service to our patients. Jade always helps no matter who you are, showing she treats everyone as equals. Thank you Jade you're amazing’.
The GREATix scheme is all about recognising a colleague’s hard work and showcasing and learning from great practice. You can submit a GREATix for someone you work with here.
Thank you for caring for our patients and each other.
Melissa Dowdeswell
Interim Chief Operating Office and Director of Nursing, Safety and Quality
Published 27th April 2023